One Washington Avenue,
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Phone: (215) 271-4800
Fax: (215) 271-4899
IMD Chief: LCDR Wirth
(215) 271-4989
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay
East Jefferson Street Bridge Train Derailment 2012
11/30/2012 – 12/17-2012
Introduction:
At approximately 0700 on the morning of November 30th, 2012 as an eighty-four rail car train with two
locomotives on its way from Camden, New Jersey to Logan Township, New Jersey crossed over Mantua
Creek on the East Jefferson Street Bridge in Paulsboro, New Jersey, a derailment occurred and forced
seven rail cars to leave the tracks with four travelling down into the waterway. Four of the seven derailed
cars contained the chemical compound, Vinyl chloride. Only one of the four derailed car containing the
vinyl chloride was breached releasing approximately 18,000 gallons of the hazardous material into the
atmosphere. The other three derailed cars contained lumber, plastic pellets, and 29,000 gallons of “alcohol
NOS” (NOS – not otherwise specified), respectively. The Coast Guard had jurisdiction over this incident
because the hazardous materials (HAZMAT) release occurred on the East Jefferson Street Bridge, which is
a swing bridge over Mantua Creek, an active navigable waterway. This incident was labeled as a Type 2
incident response based on Incident Management System (ICS) definitions.
Background:
The resulting, mangled scene posed many complex operational and logistical issues, as well as hazards for
responders and ultimately resulted in the evacuation of 260 households, the closure of businesses, and the
cancellation of school for a continuous 6 day period within the affected area. Members from Coast Guard
Sector Delaware Bay, quickly assessed incident reports, dispatched first responders (investigators), to
include Atlantic Strike Team (AST) personnel for site safety purposes, and activated the Sector’s Incident
Management Team (IMT). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plume modeling
was conducted immediately offsite by our Scientific Support Coordinator (SSC), and was vital in setting
the ½ mile evacuation zone. Within twelve hours, the Coast Guard had mobilized $10,000 worth of
equipment and established an Incident Command Post at the Gloucester County Fire Marshal Training
Center in Clarksboro, New Jersey. The Unified Command set objectives and priorities to ensure a safe and
effective response which made the safety of responders and the public the main concern. Air quality
monitoring patrols and fixed stations were established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
Conrail, the responsible party’s, hired contractor, Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health
(CTEH). Spikes in vinyl chloride readings received immediate attention. Preparatory discussions were
held regarding possible school cancellations and shelter in place notifications. Using plume projection
forecasts from NOAA, a mandatory evacuation of a 12 block area of the city of Paulsboro was conducted to
ensure the safety of the approximately 42 households in the immediate area. A subsequent evacuation on
December 4th caused the displacement of an additional 218 households resulting in a total of 680 residents
and the entire Paulsboro School District being affected.
The complicated response operations involved a two phase evolution. The first phase was to remove
product from and purge the breached vinyl chloride rail car and ensure that the tank car was safely inerted.
This required two different operations over 7 days to remove the vinyl chloride vapors and liquid product
from the rail car. The second phase involved utilizing a 150-ton crane barge, with two tug boats to assist,
to remove the four derailed cars from the waterway and placing them individually onto three deck barges,
returning one directly to rail, before bridge repairs were completed, and resetting of the three remaining
derailed cars not in the waterway back onto the tracks. The shallow, narrow waterway presented many
logistical challenges to include extremely dangerous diving operations complicated by low visibility, tide
changes causing swift currents and whirlpools at the incident site. The proximity of the incident to the
populated residential area caused significant security challenges and chemical manufacturing businesses
down rail of the incident put considerable pressure on the Unified Command to promptly restore
1
Enclosure (1)
commerce. The U.S. Coast Guard cutters CAPSTAN and CLEAT alternated enforcing a Safety Zone for
the incident to keep recreational vessel traffic away from the potentially toxic, flammable hot zone.
2
Enclosure (1)